Lithuanian MRO provider FL Technics plans to establish a new heavy airframe inspection facility in Punta Cana to support an ageing global fleet of narrowbody jets.
A new hangar featuring five aircraft bays is currently under construction in the Dominican Republic, the company says. The facility is designed to accommodate the “growing number of ageing aircraft in service” – specifically, a “targeted scope” of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 jets.
The facility is planned to undergo multiple construction phases, with capacity to grow to 20 aircraft bays in the future, according to the Vilnius-headquartered company. It will be equipped for heavy sheet metal, composite and paint work.
“As aircraft age, their structures and materials require more specialised attention,” FL Technics says. ”Today’s fleets combine reinforced composites with conventional metals, making maintenance not only more complex but more time sensitive.”
Airlines worldwide have been extending the lives of in-service jets in response to limited aircraft availabilty, with the “Big Two” airframers working through massive backlogs of narrowbody jets on order.
FL Technics, owned by wet-lease specialist Avia Solutions Group, says the planned heavy maintenance facility in Punta Cana represents ”one example of how the industry is responding” to narrowbody supply scarcity.
The MRO base will specialise in shortening turnaround times of older-model jets, which operators cite as a key concern when time comes for heavy checks, according to Jouzas Lapeika, FL Technics’ deputy chief executive of base maintenance.
”Heavy defects our our niche, and we will aim to become the top-choice MRO provider in the region,” he says.
The company says it plans to develop a local workforce via vocational training programmes to support its operations in the Dominican Republic. Train-to-hire programmes will “prepare new specialists for work on both older and next-generation fleets”, and it is moving experienced aviation workers to the site to support those initiatives.
FL Technics’ new heavy maintenance facility is due to open before year-end, with 300 employees initially and plans to grow the local workforce to 2,000.
Earlier this year, the company secured European approval for heavy maintenance services on Boeing 737 Max jets.